It's beginning to look a lot like...

In truth, up in my neck of the woods it's beginning to look a lot like flooding of epic proportions (definitely thinking now may be time to invest in some ark building classes) but it is starting to look like Christmas.

Things have been so busy around here lately, including retail shows the past two weekends (the first one was spectacular and tons of fun, the second one not so much of either) and drop ship orders going out daily, that it's sometimes hard to get into the holiday spirit. Every year I seem to surface right around the 17th of December when things finally slow down a bit only to realize that I'm rapidly bearing down on Christmas. I don't even want to talk about how early Hanukkah was this year - that was patently unfair to everyone and definitely something that needs to be taken under advisory by the Rabbinical Counsel! It was basically "hurry up and eat your Thanksgiving turkey so we can get to Hanukkah!"

But it's slowly dawning on me that Christmas is right around the corner. This year we even got a tree up and lit which is a marked improvement over our lack of any holiday decorations last year. I have some Christmas cookies baking in the oven and this afternoon, if things go according to plan, I'll light the Christmas tree candle (our tree is fake since I hate cutting down real ones so I invested in an incredible fir tree candle from Thymes (thymes.com) to give me that holiday smell) and give thanks to the Internet for allowing me to do all my shopping without setting foot in a single store. Internet shopping is a godsend to enrepreneurs like myself who rely on fourth quarter for 75% of sales revenue!

That'll teach me...

If you haven't done so already, read the post just below this one first.

Now that you've read that - here is how I saw my day going:
1. putter around a bit
2. think about doing something productive
3. get absorbed in mindless internet surfing
4. take a nap
5. go to yoga - congratulate myself on being productive
6. debate what to have for dinner since hubby is working late - seriously contemplate just eating chocolate chips and marshmellows

Here's what really happened. Not 5 minutes - and I'm not exaggerating - literally minutes after getting that last post written I get a phone call from one of my drop ship retailers. Turns out they've been having problems with their drop ship software and I had 27 orders waiting for me. Some of which that have been sitting there since Nov. 24th! I almost laughed out loud given that I had just gloated over the fact that all orders were out the door. Silly girl!

I just spent the last several hours frantically packaging, invoicing, printing shipping slips, printing mailing labels, packing into shipping boxes, and rushing to UPS where I managed to drop off all 27 orders with 7 minutes to spare before they closed pickup for the evening.

Remind me to never ever again revel in the fact that things are quiet. The Universe is just waiting to smack me upside the head. So today - Universe 1 Entrepreneur 0

...tiptoe...

...i'm quietly tiptoeing on here to announce in a whisper (lest the internet gods hear me) that as of right now every single order for the year is done AND i'm all caught up from last week's show and have even made more product in advance of this weekend's show. What on earth am I going to do with myself for the rest of the day?

(here's a few ideas...update the last 3 months of quickbooks, clean my office, make sure all bills are paid...do some work on my book (yep - a book - more on that later)...work on the website for said book (more on that later too)...sweep the upstairs...quickbooks (again - it's that important)...)

So yes, there's things that need to get done but nothing that needs to be done today. I'm debating between working on QuickBooks and taking a nap with my dogs. Hmmm...which way to go on that decision?

Silent Night

I'm officially taking tonight off from work of any kind (well - except perhaps housework). It's been a whirwind week between lots of time at the part-time gig and then a big holiday show this past Saturday and Sunday. But man did I have fun! This was the second time I've done this holiday show and it's probably one of my favorites. Just a really fun vibe and lots and lots of customers to talk to (and a good deal of money made too!). But the turnaround from that back into another full and busy week has me feeling a tad exhausted. There's still plenty to do - especially since I have another holiday show this upcoming Saturday - but I'm taking tonight off. Now I just need to find something stupid on tv to zone out to because I simply don't have it in me to read anything of any substance and, sadly, don't have any easy reading material in the house.

Bad Business Practices 101

I *just* - as in minutes ago - got my company's new holiday products listed on my company website. Yes, I am a horrible horrible businesswoman. I know I should have gotten it done weeks ago but it just never happened. The main culprit is my computer which still refuses to allow me access to my own website. So I had to pull up my relic of a business school computer. Granted, it takes 10 minutes to boot up but it gives me access to my own site.

I may be asking Santa for a new computer this year. I've been good, right?

In other news, I received a certified letter on Monday which sent me into an absolute tizzy. Certified letters never contain anything good and my head ran through 101 scenarios - none of which were positive - before I went to go pick up the letter on Tuesday as I had been at the part-time gig when they tried to deliver on Monday and they needed my signature. Only to complicate matters a massive (well, massive by Northwest standards) snowstorm had surprised my city and we were basically all in lockdown starting Monday night. So I carefully dug my car out and made it to the post office only to find out that in the chaos of the snowstorm the day before, my certified letter had somehow been misplaced. "Oh don't worry, I'm sure we'll find it before too long," the nice post office people assured me as my heart raced convinced that I was now headed to the clinker for some unknown offense that I wasn't addressing.

Long story short, the letter finally showed up on Friday but not before I lost a tremendous amount of sleep over it and likely cut a year off my lifespan. Turns out I hadn't put my telephone number on a specific piece of administration paperwork and they need said telephone number (and apparently $50 for their troubles) to be able to file it properly.

Needless to say, I feel a tad foolish for my reaction. But on a more positive note, said paperwork is now back in the mail to them (with their $50) and I have all my holiday products listed on my website. Oh - and Thanksgiving went off without too much trouble thanks to the fact that the snow melted enough to allow my better half to make it to the smoked BBQ joint that I had ordered our turkey from. Seriously - outsourcing the turkey makes the whole day much more enjoyable!

Bad Blogger

A title I've definitely earned as of late - bad blogger! It's not that I don't think of posts - it's just that the technology doesn't currently exist to turn my thoughts into actual posts and time is something I'm having a hard time finding lately. I've been getting in a surprising number of last-minute wholesale orders (well, last minute when you figure Thanksgiving and the true beginning of the holiday season is next week) and of course all of those retailers want me to ship their orders right now!!!!! I debate telling them that if they had thought ahead and either ordered before now or, at the very least, preordered so that I could have had their order ready and waiting to ship, then they could have it right now. Instead they go to the back of the ever-growing line.

Then toss in the part-time gig, a friend in town last weekend, family coming into town next week, and two retail shows in the next two weeks and things are a bit frantic. My mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas the other day and I told her what I could really use is an extra week before Thanksgiving to try and get everything under control. Instead it looks like it's full steam ahead until Dec. 23rd when I'm shutting down the business (and possibly myself as well) until after the new year.

In the meantime, I got a call from a larger company that I dropship items for asking what I had in line for Holidays 2011. My head just about exploded when I heard that. 2011 - I'm still trying to figure out how to make it through 2010 in one piece! That's a phone call I have to return on Monday...do you have any ideas?

When did November show up?

All of the sudden it's the first weekend in November and yet the house (aka - my office) is still full of orders going out the door while I also try to tackle some other projects I need to get done before half of my family descends on my tiny house for Thanksgiving. My to-do lists are growing longer and yet no matter how much I get done in a day I don't feel like I'm making much headway because for everything I manage to cross off there's at least two more things that get added to the list.

My better half is also in the midst of his usual fourth quarter craziness (he's currently on the first of what will likely be several conference calls this weekend) and this past week I don't think we actually managed to spend any time with one another because each of us were constantly going different directions.

I'm also working on some pretty big projects at my part-time zoo job that I undertook because I saw tremendous room for improvement. Everyone's excited about the ideas, I'm super excited about them, but it's an awful lot of work. It'll be fantastic at the end of the day but for now my days are literally jampacked. A typical day starts with my company work, zoo work for part of the day, then back to my work until bedtime with little time to breath.

It won't last forever - I know that my orders will slow down at some point in the near future (though then I need to get ready for two retail shows I have the first two weekends of December) - and pretty soon we'll be able to enjoy some lazy weekends again. In the meantime though it's a busy few months here.

But you know what, in this economy I can't tell you how grateful I am that both my better half and I are as busy as we are. Not to get too spiritual on anyone here, but I truly feel that we are incredibly blessed right now so while I may be tired I am not for a moment complaining. This economy will hopefully be the toughest that we ever see in our lifetime and so far the little liferaft we've strapped together is riding out the storm pretty well.

Locked Out

For some reason I'm getting locked out of everything lately. First I was locked out of this blog for several days (which is why you haven't heard a peep in a while) and now I'm also locked out of my own company website. I have no idea why. The website works on everyone else's computer and even works on my better half's computer which is running on the same wireless internet so I literally have no idea what's going on. Anyone have any thoughts?

A Good Call

Last week was the second of the two big Fall tradeshows and for the first time in four years I didn't go. It was a bit sad as that was the first tradeshow I ever went to with the business and I distinctly remember calling my better half partway through the show saying "I think we have a legititmate business here!" There was just that much interest.

But that was the heyday of the economy and as the economy slid into the doldrums so did that show. Last year it was painful to be there and stand around for three days - from 9am - 6pm - twiddeling my thumbs. The good news is that I wasn't the only one staring down the aisles just hoping a buyer would come along simply to have someone to talk to. It was that bad for everyone!

So I made the decision not to go back. It's bad enough to kill three days with nothing to do and no orders to show for it. It's even worse when it's cost you about $4000 once you figure in booth fees, flights, hotels, etc etc. I was nervous about the decision but just didn't have it in me to go through that again this year.

Turns out I made the right decision. In talking to some folks I know in the industry who went to the show it was even slower this year then last year (something I find hard to believe). My one friend said she had a total of five sales all show. That's not a quick way to make up the $4000+ investment in the show.

I'm sad to see this show become so poor but am glad I didn't go back this year and certainly won't be jumping on the bandwagon next year to head back!

Pulling A Double

It's been quiet on this blog lately because I'm doing double-duty of both employee and business owner and right now, when things are busy with my business, that leaves me little extra time for blogging or just about much of anything.

Orders continue to go out the door almost daily so things are pretty good right now. And while I wish I knew that a big order was coming in on the scale of last year's big orders, honestly the fact that it likely won't happen has actually taken a huge weight off my shouldars. Even though this means I'll be sitting on some inventory for the next few months and working through it, I am happy that I'm leaving my workspace at the end of the month on my terms yet I have some time to figure out what I'm going to do next workspace-wise. As I think I mentioned before, my workspace had changed significantly over the last few months not the least of which is that the owners are putting it up for sale. While it won't likely sell too quickly in this economy, I feared that one day I could show up and learn that I had 30 days to find new digs. With this build-up in inventory I have time to proactively determine what my next steps will be rather than simply reacting and trying to make do with something.

So it's all good here and I'm loving what Fall can be like when my stress level is ratchted down significantly. I imagine it'll get even better come November when I'm not constantly running between job to workspace to FedEx/UPS for order shipment to home to packing orders...it'll all be good!

Lemonade Anyone?

Cause we got plenty of lemons around here this week.

Every year for the past few years I've gotten slammed in the fall between orders from my small independent retailers and a few BIG orders from BIG retailers as well. Which means that every fall for the past few years I've run around like a chicken with my head cut off. Earlier this year I decided I was done being so nuts in the Fall and worked feverishly in the first part of the year to build up my inventory so at least I'd have something to fall back on when those orders came rolling in.

Only now it doesn't look like they're going to be rolling in. My little independent guys are ordering but the BIG guys have taken a pass this year (apparently you can get stuff cheaper over in China...who knew!). So now I have all this inventory and no where to send it. As you can see...lemons.

But here's where the lemonade part of it comes in. After sulking for about two hours yesterday about the BIG guys passing on me, I realized that the amount of inventory I have actually sets me up very well for next year. I have plenty of stuff to sell and it all fits with my company's mission of being handcrafted. Which means, I realized, that I don't need to hold onto my workspace lease because I don't need a place to make stuff. This is actually great because it not only frees me up timewise to spend more energy on 'selling' but it also frees up a significant portion of cash to put towards 'selling.' So I'm really excited by the change. Starting in November (I was able to get out of my lease at the end of Oct) I will be operating like most other manufacturers in my industry as I will have 'bought in' (or in my case - made and paid for) my inventory already and will be focused on selling it.

So yes, while it was raining lemons for a little bit yesterday. I'm surprisingly excited about this new tactic and seeing where it will go.

Hangover

Remember when you were in college and perhaps woke up with a dead squirrel taste in your mouth, feeling like your body had been hit by a mac truck, and trying to figure out why you had been sleeping on the lawn? (no, mom, I never did that - I swear!) That hangover was a breeze compared to this week and sadly I don't even have alcohol to blame for it.

Last week was truly the perfect storm I had anticipated. I got all my event orders late in the day on Monday so literally spent a good chunk of Monday night, all day Tuesday, most of Wednesday night, and all of Thursday getting those 150+ orders packed up, invoiced, UPS'd, and shipped out.

You notice that I wasn't doing anything Wednesday during the day? Well that's because I was manning the desk at my zoo job for our Groupon. I had played a major role in convincing senior management we needed to do a 'Groupon' despite a fair bit of resistence. Since this was the first major project I'd taken before senior management I was terrified that a poor response would be a black mark on my reputation not to mention the fact that I simply wanted it to go well. The two nights before the Groupon - when not packing up orders - I was tossing and turning in my sleep and having nightmares.

Wednesday I was up and online by 5:40am. By the time I went to bed that night we had becoming the second best selling Groupon in our city of all time and by Thursday morning (the Groupon ended at midnight the night before) we had bumped up to the top selling spot. Needless to say, I was ecstatic as was senior management. And then I got back to packing up orders for my business.

Now that it's all over and I'm merely back to packing up tradeshow orders I find myself dropdead exhausted by 8pm and crawling into bed at 9pm every night this week. Oh wait...look at that...it's bed time!

Next Steps

I'm back from the tradeshow - not quite sure why I'm awake and functioning already given what time my flight got in last night. But I'm home and glad for it. Vegas, I find, is fun for about the first 24 hours and after that I grow weary of being inside all day where the temperature is a constant 68degrees and there are no clocks on the walls (which is actually my biggest pet peeve about Vegas). I did however find the pool (hooray!) and made it to my favorite 'off the strip' Thai restaurant which was even better then I remembered.

The show went OK. Not great - not horrible - just OK. The big event that is currently happening is also going OK. Not great and not near what I had hoped at this point. But it's OK. Not sure if it'll be good enough to get invited back for another event though.

So this is what I find myself pondering this morning. The business is going OK and in this economy I should be happy with that. But the truth is that I'm just so darn tired right now and I need to figure out what my next step is going to be. The truth is that as much lip service as people give to wanting "handmade" or "Made in America" products, at the tradeshows at least, what sells is cheap crap from China. I just can't compete with that nor do I want to. Which makes me wonder if there really is a strong market for my products or whether that market withered and died with the economy. Do I keep searching for that market or do I just shut down all together?

Right now I'm leaning towards keeping the business going but moving it into much more of a part-time or, dare I say it, even hobby catagory. I'm probably halfway there already this year given how little I spent on advertising and tradeshows this year. Or do I just decide to try and sell the thing and get whatever money I can out of it? But who would honestly want to buy a business that's just ok? And, if I'm perfectly honest with myself, selling this business feels like it would be selling off on of my appendages so maybe I'm not ready for that yet.

We'll see, I need a little more time and space from Vegas before I make a decision one way or another.

The Perfect Storm

I realize there's only been the sound of crickets chirping on this blog lately but there's good reason for that. The perfect storm is brewing. I can see it out on the horizon and I'm desperately trying to batten down the hatches before it hits. Let's see, how best to break this down:

Job #1 (my own company)
1. I leave for Las Vegas on Monday for a tradeshow so I've been manically trying to get everything ready for that, get booth materials shipped out (which I sent via FedEx because it was the cheapest option available), packing, getting the house cleaned up before the pet sitter comes in for the week, etc
2. In advance of the tradeshow I've been trying to touch base with all my BIG and Medium clients over the phone (rather than a nonpersonal email) to let them know that we'll be at the show and encourage them to stop by the booth to say hello in person.
3. In advance of what I'm hoping will be decent orders, I've been frantically trying to build up some inventory so I've been putting in super long days at my workspace and then coming home and doing more work at home.
4. Oh, and did I forget to mention the "event" that's taking place next week (while I'm away at the tradeshow)? Without giving too much away, I was approached by an online retailer - a HUGE online retailer with something like 2.8M customers - about doing an event with them next week where I essentially offer up a range of my products to them at a discount. Once I ran all the numbers I realized that I'd still be making more then my wholesale price so I agreed to do it. So much of the last two weeks has been spent getting inventory ready to go for that, getting packaging ordered in (I'll be dropshipping all orders), and getting all information and photos to the retail company in advance of this event. In theory, if things go well, I'll start drop shipping a week from Monday right after I'm back from the tradeshow. If things go really well it will completely knock me out of inventory for all my wholesale orders. I'm hoping it goes really well but the thought terrifies me at the same time.

But wait, that's just one job...now let's look at Job #2
1. The zoo has been incredibly busy the last few weeks as the summer season is winding down. I've consistently been putting in 25+hrs a week which, I realize, doesn't sound like much, but when you fit in another 20+ hours of workspace time and probably another 4-6hrs nightly of work (and about 10 each weekend day), there's been a lot going on.
2. But here's where things get really fun. A colleague and myself managed to single-handedly (double-handedly?) convince the senior management team to go out on a limb and try a new marketing tactic that could pay off huge or fail miserably. After we convinced them the entire project fell on my shouldars to coordinate. Guess when it's all going down...nope, not next week...a week from Monday (the same day all teh drop shipipng has to begin). But next week, when I'm in Las Vegas, will be all the final prep for this event. I honestly think that a large part of my reputation is riding on this event and while my boss knows I'll be away he still wanted to go forward.

So my stress level is in the red zone right now between the two jobs and anytime I've thought about sitting down to get this all down on paper (screen?) I just didn't even know where to begin. Is it too much to ask that everything just exceed expectations? That my show just go gang-busters and I get great orders and reorders, that my "event" maxes out and goes so well they invite me back to do another one before the holidays (which is where I could really make some serious serious money with them), and that the marketing piece for the zoo just blow everyone away? Do you think my chances are better at winning some huge slots in Vegas?

What I need to do now is get to Vegas, get my booth set up, and then take my new pretty Kindle and go sit by the pool for an hour and just "be." Then I need to buy myself an overpriced Vegas beverage and just prepare myself to ride out the next two weeks

Helping the Economy

My credit card is on fire this week as I'm buying in massive (well, massive for me) amounts of packaging right now. I seriously put it off as late as possible but the time has come and I'm spending like a champ right now. I shuddar to think what next month's credit card bill will look like. At least I'm getting miles...sigh...

I'm also helping the employment figures as I've hired on a part-time staff person to help out for the next few weeks and, if things go well, the next few months. This person has worked for me before and is an absolute rock star of an employee. I wish I could hire her fulltime but that's just not in the cards right now. Seriously, she's so good that I've given her keys to the workspace and she'll be in there by herself while I'm at the upcoming tradeshow. I'm still dreaming of the day I can afford to have her in there more then me. It's a goal I'm working towards. In the meantime, it's both of us working our little tails off.

The reason why things have gone to warp speed lately, and why all my cash is currently headed towards packing and employement taxes, is that I've been invited to do a sales promo with a very prestigious online company (no, not groupon!). The company takes a portion of what sells but the costs still work out in my favor. The event will take place mid-September and I'm really hoping it goes well so that I can get some much-needed cash flow out of it (to pay for all that packaging and employement taxes) but also so that I can be invited back to to a holiday promotion which is when my stuff typically really shines.

Here's the catch, the online promotion happens to coincide with the last day of my tradeshow. So, if said promotion goes really well - which is what I'm hoping for - it will basically deplete me of my entire inventory stock and I'll be headed into the busiest few months of my year without any inventory. I realize that's a wonderful position to be in if it happens, but it's a little nerve-wracking at the same time. Then top it off with the fact that yesterday I got an email from one of my BIG clients wanting to reopen discussions on their holiday order and "how soon could we get it" may mean that I end my tradeshow in the red with regards to inventory if this BIG client gets me a purchase order between now and then. Again, all good problems to have but it's got my head spinning just a bit.

In the meantime, I need to walk the dogs and get to my own part-time job this afternoon. Yes, things are a tad crazy around here right now. But at least I'm helping the economy!

An Inglorious End to my Farmers Markets

The farmers markets didn't pan out for me. Thankfully I had only signed up to attend five during the summer (five total markets - not five markets a week) as I quickly learned that while I really enjoy being at the market and talking to people, I simply hate hate hate the whole set up and tear down of the market. The lugging everything to the car and stuffing it full (I have a Subaru wagon and it still barely all fits!), then going across town to the market, pulling everything out of my car, struggling in the heat to get everything set up (no matter what anyone says, those 10x10 tents are not easy to get up by yourself). But that's only the half of it - you have to do it all in reverse at the end of the day.

Then last week I went through the entire process of getting everything out and into my car, shlepped across town, only to find out that they had made a mistake and din't have me on the schedule nor did they have space for me. Sadly, I was more relieved that I didn't have to go through the whole set up then I was angry over the mistake. I think that's when I realized how very much I didn't want to do any more markets. So I traded out with someone else I know who makes similar products and she is going to take my space at the remaining markets I'm supposed to do.

If the markets had been huge money makers for me I probably wouldn't have traded in my time, but they really didn't bring in that much - at least not enough, in my mind, to make it worth all the hassle. And with my big tradeshow of the season looming in the near future and the zoo job, I felt like I had more then enough to keep me busy this Thursday afternoon rather than sitting at the market all afternoon.

Juggling

I suspect I'm in what may be the craziest piece of juggling I'll encounter between the two jobs (watch me eat my words in a few months when things are really hectic). Right now is the last push at the zoo so it's been really really busy. Not only busy, but it's also thrown my schedule all out of wack so that with the exception of last weekend, I've basically had to work 6-7days a week for the last few weeks. Not necessarily full days, but enough hours that you have to try and juggle the rest of your schedule around it.

Add to that the fact that the tradeshow season is literally right around the corner (when did September decide to show up and why didn't anyone tell me it was so close?) so I'm trying to get everything needed to get all those pieces into place as well as sending out samples to some of my larger customers and those I want to be customers.

And lastly, my better half finds himself traveling for work basically every week which means the pups need to find someone to entertain them when he and I aren't around for long stretches. So we're fully utilizing doggie daycare (though it means someone has to juggle the drop off/pick ups of the pups), a new dog walker/sitter service, and relying on good good friends to stop by and let them out when their little legs are crossed.

Despite all of those though I'm really happy. I've probably got a little too much on my plate right now between work and house projects (but hooray - I managed NOT to paint the windows shut - that's an accomplishment!) and lord knows my workout schedule isn't what I wish it was, but I'm confident it can all be handled and with an end in sight (by labor day the zoo slows down...course then my business really picks up) I'm trying to make the most of these last days of summer.

Dog Days of Summer

It is absolutely gorgeous, beautiful warm and sunny summer weather here. Don't hate me east coasters for the fact that our summer temps are an enviable 75degrees, blue skies, and no humidity. Granted, summer just showed up a month ago so it was a little late to get here but I'm loving it nonetheless.

And it has me trying to pack a year's worth of outdoor projects into the already full days. The big one right now is doing touch-up paint to the exterior of our house. While it's good for the look of the house, the real reason is that unpainted surfaces get so wet in our rainy season (aka - winter) that it makes them prime suspects for M.O.L.D. That is a word that is enough to put the fear of God into any home owner so I've been feverishly painting.

What does this have to do about work? Well, between my painting project, my part-time job, and then my workspace time and real job, things have been busy around here lately. So on Monday when I received notice that applications were up for a retail Holiday show I knew I had to spend the evening getting the application ready or I would forget about it all together. I went to this retail show last year and did really well so I'm hoping they accept me again this year (it's a juried show which means not everyone gets in). If nothing else, how quickly I turned the application around ought to show them I'm excited about the show!

Speaking of shows, I learned yesterday that my BIG wholesale trade show that is held in September every year will be moving to July starting 2013 so as to "better accomodate holiday orders." What they really mean is that they want to put more emphasis on the larger manufacturers and larger retailers who have to place their holiday orders six months in advance so they can have the products made in China and shipped over in time for the holidays. I won't lie, I'm a bit peeved off at the whole situation because my buyers - even my larger manufacturers - just don't plan that far out. I realize I don't have to worry about this just yet given that it's three years away but I figure this is the motivation I need to wean my business off of tradeshows all together. Not sure if it can be done but since I'm down to only one this year there's really no other place to go other then to cut them altogether.

Busy epiphanies

Really I've only had one epiphany but it was a good one. More on that in a minute.

Things have been busy busy busy around here lately. My job at the zoo is going full bore and I'm loving every minute of it. A job that I so tentatively took about two months ago I now find myself madly in love with and terrified that I may be let go due to budget constraints (the zoo is a nonprofit and we all know how nonprofits fare in recessions...). I'm hoping hoping hoping that my measly salary is really only seen as a blip on the zoo's accounting spreadsheet so that if they start making cuts I won't be a casualty. So instead my team is working on ways to bring in revenue so that no one's jobs are at risk. Wish me luck - we have a few months left to pull it off...

My company is still humming along despite the lack of attention it's been getting. I actually spent a lot of time involved with that group tradeshow ad and getting that whole thing coordinated and I must admit that all the hairpulling paid off. The ad came out beautifully and is going to look great at the show. Plus it only ends up costing each party about 1/4 of what it would have cost each of us individually so it's win win for everyone. I'm really happy with the way it all worked out.

So now for the epiphany...I spent most of July going back and forth in my head about the viability of keeping my company going given that my workspace is probably no longer going to be an option come the end of the year. I do have the option of turning my backyard shed into a workspace or finding another workspace all together but before I did either I wanted to guage the level of commitment I had to the business. No need to move all the stuff from one space to another just to want to shut it all down a year later. What my month of self-reflection finally revealed is that I do love the business and want to continue with it and that a lot of anxiety I've been having over it has to do with some of the contentious relationships in my current workspace. I'm still waiting to see how the holiday season pans out for me and if I get a couple of the accounts I'm hoping for, but if so I'm more apt to try and get a portion of our shed builtout and use that as my workspace. We'll see though...I'm not committing to anything until I see how the rest of this year goes.

"That'll be $600 thank you very much"

At some point in the last year I'm convinced that all of the tradeshow freight companies got together and decided that they were going to double their prices while simultaniously dropping any sort of concept about customer service.

In my first year of doing trade shows - five years ago now! - I basically either carried all my tradeshow material with me or shipped it in advance to a friend. After that I got smart and started using tradeshow freight companies to get my products and setup to the various shows. It wasn't cheap but it was a worthwhile expense. Until this year...all of the sudden what last year cost me $300 is now looking like it will cost me upwards of $600. I say "looking like" because I seriously cannot get one tradeshow company to call me back without me first contacting them again and again to hassle them for a quote. And these are the people I'm counting on to get my stuff safe and sound to Las Vegas? They sure aren't exhibiting a whole lot of concern for me at this point!

After getting what to me is a series of obscenely high quotes and since I'm only going to one show this year I'm seriously thinking of just shipping the booth material directly to the show site. I did some rough calculations yesterday and I think with the help of my friends at Fedex, some careful packing (my booth theme might be "minimalist" this year), and the good folks at TheHotel business serivces office, I think I can make this entire thing work for less then $300. The one piece I'm worried about is making sure the business office is open late enough for me to pack up the booth and get it back to the business office before I scurry to the airport for my flight the evening the show closes. I'm still trying to work out the final details but if doing it myself can save me $300+ then it's worth the extra work in my mind.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Why did I allow myself to be finagled into being the main contact person for a group ad that a bunch of manufacturers are doing for the big tradeshow this Fall? Perhaps because I stupidly believed that working with other entreprenuers would be easy and painless. Instead, it's like herding cats (my favorite phrase and it so aptly describes the situation).

Long story short, I'm helping to coordinate a group ad that essentially allows 10 of us smaller manufacturers to band together for a large one-page ad that will be make it significantly cheaper for each of us then if we were to do smaller ads on our own. I've been trying to get everyone's logo and booth information so I can get it to the graphic artist and then into the ad and I'm honestly having to pull teeth. The best was yesterday when some guy FINALLY sent me his info (after I essentially threatened that he wouldn't be included) and in the email he asks me to explain the whole process to him and what exactly do I need his logo for? It's a pity the internet does not allow you to slap people upside the head. He has been part of a discussion that has been going on for three weeks now about the ad, how it's all going to work, what the benefits are, etc and he still doesn't know what's going on? Listen, I understand that entreprenuers are busy folks and are typically trying to juggle a ton of things at once. I get it...I'm doing it! But c'mon now. For that level of stupidity I should charge him for his portion of the ad and my own portion of the ad for the time I had to take out of my life to explain - once again - the entire process to him.

What to do...what to do...

The answer to the above question is that I'd like to buy my ranch and move to Wyoming. I don't mean that in a fleeting way either - "my" ranch, the one when I saw it for the first time 10 years ago I stated publically would one day be mine, is for sale for a rather reasonable price as far as ranches go. Unfortunately it's still well outside my price range.

My ranch being for sale and some time home in Wyoming last week gave me some space and time to think about how I want to proceed with my business. Truth be told, the whole aspect of my workspace basically closing at the end of the year or, on the outside, the end of next year, throws a wrench into things. Not a wrench that can't be worked around, but a wrench nonetheless. But I'm trying to take a positive view that it forces me into an uncomfortable area and sometimes that's where the best ideas come from.

At the root of it all, I'm exhausted. Unlike other "manufacturers" in my industry, I not only do all the marketing, sales, graphic design, product innovation, and bookkeeping but I also literally handmake every single product that I sell. Other manufacturers buy their products from third parties (at greater upfront costs then I incur so at greater risk to them) but that means they are solely responsible for all the selling, marketing, bookkeeping etc and that's more then enough to keep them busy. Then you throw in this new part-time gig that I have and I'm feeling a bit...well...tired.

The problem is though that I love my part-time gig. I get to dress up in the morning and stay clean (a massive difference from my workspace), I get to help an organization I believe in and I feel valued for the work I'm doing both in an emotional and financial way. Just the fact that I am happy to create an excel spreadsheet while the rest of my team cowers in fear of excel has made me somewhat of a legend already. Seriously, the CEO already knows my name. I never knew a working knowledge of excel could make me so popular (thank you business school for that one and my better half for making me take as many finance and accounting courses as possible).

The other problem is that I'm not ready to give up my business. I still believe in it, I still love it, and I still think it has a place in the market. If I could just figure out a way to do all the administrative side of it and not have to literally do every single piece of production that would be ideal but, at this point, not realistically financially.

The idea I'm toying with is turning our backyard shed into something of a workspace. It can be done and my husband is totally supportive of the idea once we realized that in the long run it is far cheaper to do that then to keep renting space from others - but the idea of turning that shed into a workspace makes me feel even more tired. Not only the sheer amount of work that would have to go into it but also I fear that if in two or three years I'm still this tired will I just want to be done with the business totally in which case I've wasted money on the shed (though it could be marketed as "artists studio" when we go to sell the house which is what others in the neighborhood have done). I wonder though that if the shed were a workspace would I still feel as tired about making the product by hand or, since I'd have the freedom to do the work whenever it best suited me (I'm currently tied into a schedule that doesn't allow for much flexibility) perhaps I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed.

Ideally I'd like one of two things to happen:
1. I win the lottery and can buy my ranch later this summer. Probably not the most strategic plan but it's one way to look at the situation.
2. My company get picked up by two catalogue companies I'm courting and do good business with them. If I could work out a sustainable dropship business with those guys it would eliminate a lot of my expenses and it would be totally feasible to do business from my somewhat converted shed. I'd likely break even a lot earlier every year and possibly even throw off some cash for myself and I wouldn't necessarily have to be "on" year-round. More just around the major holidays and I'd be ok with that. It would mean though that the business, while still legally and in the eyes of the IRS would still be a business, but in my head it might shift into more of a hobby for the next few years and I wouldn't necessarily be actively looking to increase revenue X% every year so much as keep a happy healthy status-quo until I'm ready to invest further time, money, and energy into building it further.

Do you have any thoughts or ideas? Or any thoughts on what the winning lottery numbers will be would also be appreciated. I'd let you keep a horse or two on my ranch free of charge if I won. I'd even let you visit whenever you wanted and I'd whip you up a mean ranch breakfast (after you help out with morning chores though).

Score!!!

I happened to check out the business section today of the NYTimes after getting off my zoo job and read about the fact that Southwest was having a 1day mega sale on flights. Turns out that it's for travel during when I have to get to a tradeshow and, since Southwest flies out of my airport and directly into tradeshow city airport, I was able to get roundtrip tickets for direct flights that leave at exactly the time I want for $180 including all taxes. That makes me happy.

Now if only I could get all the tradeshow booth crap there that cheaply!.

Where Things Stand

I don't even know what to say other than to take a big deep sigh. It's just been one of those months around here what with my better half traveling basically every weekend and at least once a week, the fact that we've had a number of contractors in for work around the house, my company, and then toss in a new part-time job on top of that and it's really just been hectic around here. I've constantly felt like I haven't known whether I've been coming or going what with trying to coordinate everyone's schedules (the dogs and contractors are not a good mix so I've had the dogs in a daycare a bunch which adds to the convoluted schedules). Sadly, the one thing that typically helps keep my and my better half sane, working out, has fallen by the wayside dramatically and we're both hoping to put in a somewhat respectable showing at our races this weekend. Though we've also tossed around the idea of just bagging the entire weekend and hiding out at home since next week ain't looking any easier.

Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely loving the new part-time gig. It makes me realize how shell-shocked I was coming out of my last HIGHLY dysfunctional company and makes me wonder that if I had worked for a normal company before perhaps I wouldn't have been so gunho to start my own company. Working with normal people and for a boss who doesn't suddenly take off your head for no reason other then the fact she had a fight with her husband that morning actually makes for a pleasant work environment. And when I don't feel like I have to walk around on eggshells all day I actually feel like I'm able to get things accomplished. It's a nice feeling. Though I do find myself holding my breath sometimes just waiting to hear someone yell or someone tell me how stupid I am...yeah, almost makes me miss my old company.

And, ironically, since I've been so busy with the new job and the contractors I've have put l had ittle energy to put into my company and yet I've had a small spike in sales and an even bigger spike in interest from retailers. Don't exactly know where that's coming from but it's making me believe I can actually handle all of this. (another big sigh).

Lastly, and this is the big thing this week, the workspace meeting I mentioned in another post did happen yesterday and we were told that the current workspace owners are looking to sell the place. Now I don't consider myself a financial wizard but the sum they're asking is absolutely ridiculous in my mind. And my better half - who is a financial genius and who basically does business valuations for a living agrees that the price they're asking is outrageous. Oh, but here's the good news - they're eager to see if any of the companies currently in the workspace want to "buy in" along the lines of a co-op system so we can all be part owners in the building. Keep in mind that the building is leased so you're not even really getting the building, just the equipment and the remaining time on the lease. And you're not even really getting that - only a portion ownership of it. Needless to say, I'm weighing my options right now and trying to figure out what my next step will be. Thankfully it doesn't seem like anything is going to happen one way or another before the end of the year so I'm hoping I can get through my busy period in my current space and then figure out where to go from there.

(another big sigh)

Repeat After Me...

Starting a business takes more time, energy, and money then you originally anticipate to become successful. Hell, starting a business takes more time, energy, and money then you originally anticipate to simply become breakeven.

Listen, I'm just as guilty and points 1 and 3 (time and money) but even though I do get burnt out from time to time I think I had a pretty good idea about how much energy was involved. But to be honest, my thinking about how long it would take and how much money it would not only take but also yield seems to have been much closer to the mark then almost all the entreprenuers in my immediate circle. Just a few examples:

1. A dear friend who is incredibly smart and far more business savvy then me thought that her business would be kicking off $50K in profit that she could take as a salary. This is with next-to-nothing invested in marketing and only two years in business. Needless to say, she's highly demotivated right now realizing that it's going to take far far longer to reach those goals.

2. Someone in my workspace who started up one business and then bought a second business a few months later can't understand why she's so burnt out. She's running both businesses simultaniously and told me today "I thought it'd be so much easier to make money." My guess is that if it were that easy the previous owner likely wouldn't have sold.

3. I heard a rumor today that is decently substantiated that the couple who owns my workspace (I lease time from them) are tired of owning/running the space and they want out. Apparently we're to learn this at the Workspace Meeting next week. That should be interesting! They've done a pretty lousy job of hiding the fact that owning/running the workspace has taken more time and yielded less money then they expected and they're tired of working so hard. I guess an idea is floating around that they want to try and turn it into a co-op situation which just sounds like an utter disaster to me (what happens if, for example the person I highlighted in #2 just gets so tired of her business that she quits which would leave all remaining partners to split her share of expenses in addition to one's own expenses).

So repeat after me folks - starting a small business is going to take far more money, far more time, and far more energy then you expect. Do yourself a favor and when you write out your business plan include a plan for the worst-case scenario. One in which the business loses money and nobody likes what you make/do/offer. If you can stomach that scenario then you might be ready to jump in. But if you think you're going to be making $100K right off the bat (with no venture funding) then I wish you luck. And if you do manage to make $100K right off the bat then please please please drop me an email and let me know how the heck you managed to pull it off!

Winging It

There are times where I seriously feel like I'm just winging it with this business and wonder how things would be done in a real corporate environment. My latest example is that yesterday I received a new products questionaire from a catalog company that might be interested in carrying a new product. There were stock questions on there that I didn't know how to answer and I had to do things like pull out the measuring tape and start taking down dimensions to give them the information they needed. Certainly not so hard it couldn't be done, but sometimes I realize how a$$-backwards I do things. Corporations I'm sure already know all of that information so they can quickly fill out the questionaire when they get it. Then again, in big corporations there's so much red tape the questionaire - even if quickly answered - probably has to be ok'd by 101 managers and, of course, Legal so perhaps I'm actually getting back to them quicker?

And while I'm here - let's chat for a minute about selling yourself short. One of the questions on the questionaire was regarding minimum quantity amounts. Since this is a new product I wasn't sure what I should tell them so based it off of what fits nicely and securely in my shipping boxes. However the amount was 60 units and I fretted (and continue to fret) that it's too high a number for them since the product is untested in their marketplace. My better half kept telling me to put down 60 and if they didn't like that number they'd come back and tell me so. But I hestitated nonetheless. Then he rightly told me to stop selling myself short. And oh man am I guilty of that. I'm probably my own worst enemy in that regard and consistently undersell myself. This happens especially with new accounts where I want so badly to get the business I may undervalue what I bring to the table. It's something I need to work on. So I did put down 60 units - though my heart clenched slightly when I emailed that number back to them.

Why I took the job...

I went in for a followup interview on Thursday with the zoo regarding their part-time marketing position and walked out employed. Well, technically I walked out under "security review" but I'm not anticipating any problems with that so I should be starting work with them next week.

Let me first state, that I am not abandoning my company. My company is my priority and I still - perhaps foolishly - believe I can juggle it all. In a nutshell, my decision to take the job came down to three points:

1. I believe in this organization and it's mission. I'm already a volunteer with them and feel strongly about what they're doing and how they're trying to change the world. They do a substantial amount of conservation work around the globe and in my role I will be charged with both helping get more people through the gates so that more revenue can go towards conservation and with trying to help people understand the importance of conservation. Trust me, if this job were simply a marketing position at Big Computer Company or Random Accounting Firm I wouldn't have taken it. It's this organization in particular which holds specific interest for me. Not to mention that my boss seems to be very understanding that this is only a part-time gig and won't be expecting me to check email during the weekend or anything similar. It's the type of job you go in, work hard, and leave after 20 hours with no more thought of it until the following week. Which leaves me with all the other hours in the week to worry about my business.

2. It's validating to get a paycheck. I don't for a second mean the actual dollar amount - but simply to receive a paycheck. Even while I'm building sweat equity in my company and believe it will pay off down the road, there's something validating about getting a paycheck. The one thing I've always struggled with in regards to my company is that I haven't been contributing financially to the "family pot." I want to pull my own weight or - at the very least - pull some of it. That's empowering. So while this may not be a huge paycheck it's something. And on a second note, this is money that can be used to fund my business. Remember that my business is entirely self-funded and while I've substantially closed the gap with regards to getting it to breakeven, there are certain times of the year that the business needs a cash injection to buy materials/packaging/etc that is needed for the busy holiday season. Now I have a well to draw from that isn't the "family pot." This seems even more important this year as I'm literally watching small businesses I know drop like flies around me. There have been three small companies in my workspace alone who have closed up in the last month and in talking with my graphic designer yesterday I learned of two more in the area that are in my industry that didn't make it. Even if people are saying the recession is over, it's still tough out there and I want to position my company to succeed. One way to do that is to make sure that it has enough cash to survive the lean periods.

3. And lastly, I'm excited to get some other employment on my resume. Being self-employed is not always viewed as a positive by potential employers some of whom seem to think that said business is a hobby and not a legitimate business. While I don't plan on ever needing to write another resume, it's good to know that I'll have some more up-to-date 'working for someone else' information on my resume. Guess I've just been a little spooked lately because in addition to seeing so many small businesses fall by the wayside, I've also had a number of friends going through changes (divorce, family death, main breadwinner loses job) that requires them to start looking for jobs to help support their family. While we're not planning on any of those happening, sometimes life simply doesn't have the same plan and I want to know that I'd be able to get myself employed to support my family if something untoward happened.

Bits & Pieces

The Farmers Market went...good. Not great by any stretch of the imagination and I certainly didn't hit my "monthly fixed costs" goal but the weather was crappy (low 50's, cloudy, and rainy) and it was the Thursday of Memorial Day weekend so lots of folks were already jetting out of town. I'm scheduled to go to the market again in 10 days so I'm hoping for better weather and better sales. Despite the not so great sales, this market did help push me ahead of 2009 sales-to-date so that's always something to be happy about.

The Shop Class book got a too little heavy on the philosophy end of things for my liking. Not all together surprising given that the author is a PhD in philosophy, but as someone who barely managed to stay awake during Philosophy 101 this got a little too theoretical towards the end for my liking. (It's not my fault that I was scheduled for an 8am Philosophy 101 class, right after morning varsity swim practice, and the classroom was really the local movie theatre. Nicy comfy chairs, dim lights, long dronings on about philosophy and I'd already been up for 3 hours. C'mon, I really can't be blamed for all the times I fell asleep!)

I have an appointment to talk with the zoo about the part-time position on Thursday. Someone suggested it's not worth doing this and my company as money isn't everything and I have to add that while I did bring it up, the financial end of this really isn't the thing that interests me about the position. I need to talk with them and get a few things straight in my head and then I'll lay out the reasons as to why I did or did not take the job.

The Plot Thickens...

While manning the Farmer's Market yesterday my cell phone rang but, since I was chatting with customers, I let it go to voicemail. Turns out it was the zoo calling to see if I was still interested in that position I interviewed for last month. Apparently whoever they hired didn't work out for one reason or another and the position is now open again.

Since the phone call came out of left field I had to buy myself a little time to think and called back last night telling a little white lie that I was out of town for the holiday weekend and would get back to them on Tuesday. I just didn't expect something like this to happen so it wasn't something I even contemplated and I need a little bit to think this all through.

So what would you do? Would you take the part-time position because the money would be nice (although certainly wouldn't make or break the family finances) and it can't hurt to get some non-entrepreneur employment back on the old resume? Or would you figure that trying to balance two jobs - your own company and a 20hr week part-time position along with quality family time (which is the thing that probably brings me the most joy in this world) would just make you crazy? Or would you simply fill to meet the new time challenges and thrive? What would you do?

Found Afternoon & Book Review

A found afternoon is a rarity in these parts as, being a relatively Type A personality, I typically have things scheduled in pretty tight during the week. The fact that I was scheduled to volunteer at the zoo this afternoon was why I was on the phone at 7:30am with an east coast customer for an hour. Then it turns out the weather has been crappy all day (crappy is giving it far too much credit...summer, oh summer, where art thou?) and I was told I didn't need to come into the zoo. So all of the sudden I found myself with four hours I hadn't accounted for and.not.a.single.thing.planned. What's a girl to do?

I figured I should do what any self-respecting English Lit major would do on a rainy, overcast, generally icky day, and opened up my latest library book for a few hours of reading. While I'm not yet done with it, Shop Class as Soulcraft is worthy of a mid-way-through-it review.

In case you haven't heard of this piece of nonfiction, let me set the background for you. The author, Matthew Crawford, is a PhD in philosophy who worked for a DC think tank before realizing that what truly made him happy in life was fixing motorcycles so he chucked it all and opened up a motorcycle repair shop. You think your family complains you waste your degree? Imagine what Thanksgiving dinners around this guy's house must be like.

But the arguement he makes in this book is that here in America - and much of the Western world - there is an idealized seperation between blue collar and white collar labor. Blue collar are the types of jobs that leave you with grit under your fingernails at the end of the day and white collar are "thinking" jobs. And while this may have been true at one point, Crawford argues that many white collar jobs have become so routinized that there is very little "thinking" left in them. For example, who ever would have dreamed that accounting could be just as easily outsourced to India or China as manufacturing has been? Yet it's true and it's happening because accounting - among other professions - is no longer really about exploring and understanding but more about checking boxes and making sure that all the i's are dotted. Think about it this way, if anyone had really been paying attention would Bernie Maddoff been able to get away with what he did for such a long period of time?

There are few thoughts that Crawford has brought up already that I'd like to touch on. The first is that manual labor has become seen as being an "unthinking" job. Perhaps that's true in the cases of some assembly lines where the entire job is to fit Part A onto Part B, but like Crawford himself, to a certain group of people there is something about being able to create a tangible object with your own hands that makes your very soul sing. Or at least it does that for mine.

For those who don't know, I spent several years working as a pastry chef for a hotel chain and then several years in the marketing department of a software company. The salary in the software company was better, the hours were MUCH better, the benefits were better, and I could wear nice clothes and act like a grownup. And yet if given a choice between the two I'd head back to that pastry chef job well before I'd go back to the cubicle. Being able to, at the end of a very long day with back aching and feet throbbing, to be able to point to something tangible and say "I made that" was more fulfilling than any marketing campaign I ever developed. Part of the problem came from the fact that I wasn't given the latitude in the software job to actually "develop" anything from scratch. I was given a very definite parameter and set of rules as to how said company did their marketing campaigns and one was not to stray from that regardless of the circumstances. It was essentially a glorified Search & Replace function for key words and then out it'd go. As Crawford says on page 143, "Despite the beautiful ties I wore (in his stint in the corporate world), it turned out to be a more proletarian existence then I had known as a manual worker."

To be brutally honest, there are times when I'm embarrassed that I've taken my two bachelor degrees and my MBA and parlayed it into a career path that is premised on manual labor. Yes, I own my own company and there is much in the administrative and marketing side of things that gets my brain humming and I really enjoy, but I don't ever really see myself handing off all the manual labor to underlings. I simply enjoy that work too much (most of the time). This book is helping me remember that working with my hands shouldn't be something I'm ashamed of even while my fancy degrees sit on the wall. I am becoming an expert in an area and literally "create" something every day I'm in my workspace. This is different, yes, from a management consultant (one of the career paths that is glorified in MBA programs) but the truth is that the only thing management consultants are experts at is being generalists and while they may swoop in and suggest changes, they rarely actually enact the changes themselves. This isn't to say they don't deserve credit (my hubby being a former consultant himself) but that they have to live in an abstract world based on management principles that may or may not differ from the reality of said specific business. And while abstract ideas are good, I personally would derive no pleasure if I weren't able to produce something that I can hold in my hands at the end of the day. That doesn't make me any better, but that shouldn't make me any less either.

Modest Summer Goals

You wouldn't know that summer was on it's way by the weather we're having in the Pacific Northwest lately. However, since the upcoming Memorial Day holiday is the unofficial start of summer (even if I do have to wear a sweatshirt the entire weekend) I figured I might as well make some summer goals.

For me summer is usually really really quiet from a sales standpoint. More importantly, it's also typically the time of year I start dipping into the business savings because sales are quiet. So the goal for me this year is to try and make sure that my monthly sales exceed my monthly costs. Even if it's only by $1 I'll be overjoyed.

Now here are the caveats - there are a few things that happen in the summer which my summer sales simply won't cover. Things like final payment for my tradeshow booths even though the shows won't happen until the Fall, getting new packaging made up in advance of the busy fall season, etc. Things like that are exempt (for now) from this goal. The goal is to simply have my 'normal' monthly costs - like my workspace rent, raw materials cost, etc - all be covered by what I sell each month.

And there are two ways I hope to meet this goal. First is by increasing sales - even if only slightly - via the Farmers Markets (pray for good weather this Thursday - pray for good weather this Thursday!). Secondly is that I want to continue to reign in spending whereever possible because the lower my costs are each month the easier it will be for my monthly sales to cover them.
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So far May is off to a good start with an order going out today that will cover about 60% of May's costs. That just means I need to try and get another 40% at the Farmer's Market this Thursday (pray for good weather, pray for good weather) and then I need to start thinking about how best to tackle June.

Payback

I know that I'm really tired at the end of shows and want nothing more then to stuff everything into a box and just get on my way. But if I could pause for one second this year after shows and remember that payback is a B$*(&. By payback I mean times like this where I cannot for the life of me find that "thing" I'm looking for that I need to bring with me to the farmers market this Thursday. Which means tomorrow I'm going to have to pull every box out of storage and rummage through it to find this one silly little thing. Grrrr.....

Spinning Wheels

I'm refering to the wheels in my head. They're spinning today with ideas that are 75% of the way developed but not "quite" there. Today was a big production day in my workspace but the production I was doing was elementary at best. It's the type of production that you'd pay the lowest level line employee to do because it's completely unskilled. Unfortunately the lowest paid employee right now - and also the only employee - is me. So I spent 8+ hours doing very very brainless work.

It's not nearly as bad as it sounds. Sometimes I enjoy the fact that I'm able to get work done but give my brain a break. Sometimes I'd rather be doing this type of work then QuickBooks :). And sometimes, like today, this type of work enables me to tune out and think about other areas of the business.

So this is what got me thinking (amongst other things). Pros and cons of trying to work with an established company to do private label for them. They're not in my industry but there are some similarities between our company's with regards to mission, quality, etc that I could see it making sense. Plus, given who their audience is, I could see this audience being interested in said new product. But....I just don't know. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with private label?

Still Here...

Just busy lately. It seems like everything collided last week what with numerous doctor's visits (just routine stuff), dog vet visits (not so routine but it's all looking good), and work. Busy busy busy. Truthfully it makes me very glad I didn't get that job at the zoo or I'd have been pulling my hair out by now.

The biggest focus of last week was getting the professional photos picked up and then working on them to get them in the formats I needed to send them over to some catalogues. A couple catalogues the pictures are being looked at and then if they like what they see they'll ask for samples. One of the other catalogues is one that I'm currently working with and they needed the pictures ASAP to start working with as they are already working on their holiday catalogues. So I've been busy trying to get all the right pieces going to the right contacts, keeping everyone happy, and trying to lure a couple catalogue companies further down the road of realizing that my products are something they just simply can't do without.

I'm also trying to get ready for my first Farmers Market next week. I'm working on a list of all the pieces I need and the list is growing expodentially every day. Thankfully I've managed to secure most stuff from friends if I didn't already have it so I'm holding down costs on this which is key because I just don't know how well my stuff is going to do in a venue like this. I could also use some stellar weather because that always helps farmer's market sales so if you could send some my way a week from Thursday from about 1-7pm it would be greatly appreciated.

Cash Flow is King

There were several things I took away from my entrepreneurship courses at bschool that have rung more true then I could ever have imagined. The #1 being that no matter how great a proforma spreadsheet you make - calculating all your sales, fixed costs, variable costs, etc - in the end for a small business what it really comes down to is cash flow. It doesn't matter that you make $1M annually if you don't have enough money in the bank to pay tomorrow's bills. I've talked about this a few times - specifically in the Fall when I'm more often then not waiting for payment from Peter to be able to pay Paul. It's a stressful stressful game to play.

Which is why I've really enjoyed this series of articles from the NYTimes small business section: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/my-week-in-cash-flow/
You'll want to scroll down to the bottom of the page and start with Monday's entry and read backwards, but it's a great example of the cash flow issues small businesses face. Personally, while reading it I felt a mix of "thank goodness someone else also goes through the same thing" and "thank goodness the numbers I'm faced with aren't nearly as large as his!" Regardless, it's a great small business read if you have the time and I think it hits home more strongly then many of us small business owners would like to admit.

The week here is ending up well. My photoshoot went really well yesterday. The majority of the shoot was strictly for product photos (product centered on white background) but there were a handful of more artsy shots and one in particular that when I saw it I said "that's my ad." Too bad I don't plan on doing a lot of advertising this Fall. This photo is almost good enough to make me want to do more!

Photoshoot on Thursday

Photoshoot on Thursday...photoshoot on Thursday....photoshoot on Thursday. Tons to do between now and then with the major one being jerry-rig some mocked up labels that I haven't yet paid to be professionally printed so they look professionally printed in the photoshoot. I need things to look perfect!

I've also been checking out this site for photography inspiration: http://foodgawker.com/

My photographer is an incredible professional photographer and I oftentimes just leave it to his creative direction but panning through that site helps give me ideas on different angles or ways of approaching a product that are eye-catching.

Business Book Review

Let me preface this by saying that I'm someone who always have to have a book that I'm in the process of reading. So when I finished up a fiction book recently on a weekend away and saw this book in their bookcase, I traded out books and figured I'd give it a shot. I remember hearing about The 4 Hour Workweek a few years ago and while I was skeptical, it certainly sounded interesting if you could pull it off. So why not give it a go and see what it has to say.

I've made it to page 34 and just can't continue. I'd rather have no book to read then be forced to finish this one. Perhaps it's the author's tone, perhaps it's his arrogence, or perhaps it's because the book was published in 2007 - likely written in 2006 - and with it now being 2010 I have the benefit of knowing the financial meltdown that was about to occur. In a nutshell - from the 34 pages I've made it through - the author seems to propose a life away from the cubicle, the working 9-5 (more like 8-6!), and the 401Ks IRAs and other retirement savings vehicles. He recommends becoming one of the "new rich," living for today, and enjoying life when you're young.

Like I said, I went into this with a healthy dose of skeptism and in my 34 pages it only grew. Then again, I am someone who believes that hard work pays off or lord knows I wouldn't be doing this entrepreneurship thing. I also believe fervently in living well below your means and keeping a nice healthy cushion of savings and investments both for retirement or simply the curveballs live throws at you along the way. So while the idea of outsoucing my life and traveling the world sounds appealing, I sleep better at night knowing I actually have two dimes to rub together.

The author does bring up an interesting concept though which is perhaps explored further had I continued to read anymore. The idea that we in the US believe that work has to be all-encompassing. That if you aren't working 50+ hr weeks you really aren't working hard and haven't "earned" your money or your lifestyle. This is in contrast to the European view of work in which work is a compliment to your life but certainly not the mainstay...otherwise the French wouldn't take the entire month of August off!

In some ways my own business mimics this somewhat. My busy season - so busy I barely have time to breath and typically lose 5-10lbs because I'm just too busy to stop and eat - is about 4 months long. There's some quasi-busy time as I lead up to those months and do my best to prepare, and then the rest of the year is really pretty quiet. During those quiet months I typically feel guilty for not being busy and for having the time available to enjoy some sunshine and read on the porch. What I'm trying to make myself realize this year is that I shouldn't be guilty about the ebbs and flows in my business. I'm certainly trying to introduce new products that will take some of the seasonality out of the equation, but at it's crux, my product and its price point will always be more geared towards holiday gifting then simply an everyday purchase. I'm trying to keep in mind that the slow periods are a great time to get caught up on the rest of my life and do odd jobs around the house like paint the baseboards or fix the screen door and that I shouldn't necessarily feel bad that I'm not running around like a chicken with its head cut off....cause that'll start again about September!

Back on Track

I didn't get that part-time zoo job and given that I was upset about it for approximately 90 seconds seems to be pretty good indication of how badly I wanted the job. I honestly think I wanted to "win" the position more then I actually wanted to do the job itself. Oh, and the paycheck, I wanted that part of it too. Even though it was a measly amount, it was a measly amount more then my current paycheck. I did get my zoo volunteer assignment though and starting next week I will be in charge of the petting zoo. Ok, maybe "in charge" is a bit of a stretch - more likely I'll be trying to keep the docile animals from biting small children, explaining to hypervigilant parents that no, your kids cannot get swine flu from the zoo's one pig, and scooping poop. Luckily my dogs have already given me plenty of training in the poop scooping arena so I will undoubtably be in charge of that after just a few short volunteer sessions.

In the meantime, it's getting to be about that time of year to start thinking about holiday product photos because nothing reminds one more of the holidays then tulips blooming. I have my annual photo shoot (for products, not for me) next week so I have to spend some time this week getting everything compiled and organized.

Paying Someone Else

I'm a very hands-on person with my business. To the extent that it's my hands literally making the products that go out the door. Many would argue that that is not necessarily the best business model but at the end of the day I do love what I'm doing.

As much as I dislike paying other people to do what I believe I can do myself there are two areas I have no qualms paying someone else to oversee. The first is my accountant who I meet with once a year to get my business taxes filed. The rest of the year I keep the books up-to-date. Or let's say I at least get them done before I go in for my accountant meeting every year. But she's the one who knows the intricacy of the tax code, any changes to the tax code, and she makes sure everything gets filed and paid on time. For that I pay her a nice little sum but it's well worth it in my mind.

The other is closely related and that is with the filing of my quarterly employee paperwork. Sadly, once you have employees you have to file quarterly reports with the local gov't even if you get to the point where you don't have any employees. Thanks to the recession, I'm in the 'no employee' zone but still have to file the paperwork even if the paperwork has a big fat zero on it. Truthfully I probably could do the paperwork myself and get it filed but the honest answer is that with everything else on my plate I often forget that the quarterly files are even due until they show up in my mailbox needing my signature and a 44cent stamp. So for the sheer fact of someone else making sure I keep the gov't informed and happy I gladly pay $200/yr. It's worth it to me in terms of peace of mind.

In other news - no word yet from the zoo which I'm taking as not such a great sign since they said I'd hear "early next week" (aka - this week). Figuring since I haven't heard it likely means they've offered the job to someone else and are waiting for that person to confirm before telling everyone else thanks but no thanks. But you know what, if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen and I choose to believe that there's some other great stuff coming down the pipeline.

Friday Highlights

If you care enough here's how my day went.

1. I had the part-time job interview this morning first thing and think it went well. It's always hard to tell isn't it? I mean I felt it went well but I know I'll also be judged against the other contenders for the job so I have no idea how I did in relation. So for me I did well.

Honestly, I didn't walk out of there thinking "I WANT this job." More of a "I know I could do a great job for them and it's a worthwhile organization." There were some parts about it I liked and some parts I didn't like. So I have to put some thought over the weekend into whether, along with the impact it will have on life outside of part-time job, whether the pros outweigh the cons.

Then again I might not get the offer and then can simply volunteer at the zoo more this summer.

2. I figured out how to work my new sewing machine. Man that's a cool little machine. And I haven't even sewn my fingers together yet (though did come close once). I was just playing around with some test fabric and am already in love with the little machine. I need to pick up some extra stuff and do a couple more test runs before I try it out on the actual expensive fabric. But yeah, so far very happy with it.

3. I talked a friend into starting up the small business she's been dreaming about doing for years. I told her to just jump off the cliff. Cause at some point when everything seems to be pointing towards GO, you just have to take a deep breath and jump otherwise you'll never do it.

How was your Friday?

What Does One Wear to a Zoo Interview?

The easy answer of course is "monkey suit" - ha ha ha. I crack myself up.

A while back I happened to mention that I applied for a part-time position at my local zoo. I'm already a volunteer there and deeply believe in the mission of the zoo as they are a leader with regards to conservation and being eco-friendly in addition to just being a really cool zoo. I was playing around on Craigslist one day and happened to stumble upon a posting for a part-time marketing assistant position at the zoo so I figured what the hell and went ahead and applied.

Heard nothing, heard nothing, heard nothing...so just this morning I figured that the position did indeed go to either the former CMO of a Fortune 500 or some kid who used daddy's connections to get him/her the job. Oh well, I figured, c'est la vie. And it's not like I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs...I've got a lot going on.

Then this afternoon I got a call from the zoo wanting to know if I'd like to come in for an interview. They even admitted that initially they had been searching for someone right out of college but given the resumes they received they realized that they might be able to get someone like me - someone who has experience and an established work ethic and is looking to "supplement" their life with a part-time job rather than merely using this job as a stepping stone for bigger and better things. Yes, there's a small part of me that feels bad for edging out that 19yr old, but them's the breaks kid.

I now have an interview Friday morning and of course am immediately vexed by whether adding yet another thing to my plate - even it is only 20 hours/week - is going to make our lives crazy. As right or wrong as this sounds, even though my business isn't crazy busy right now, I find that my days are pretty full as it's my "job" to keep house and home running smoothly. While I know it's very anti-feminist for me to say so, I actually derive a lot of pleasure from trying to keep the house in some semblance of order, try my hand at mowing the lawn from time to time, and keep the dogs happy and walked. So will adding a 20/hr week position upset the delicate balance we have going right now?

I realize these are things I can worry about after being offered the position. Step 1 is that I need to do my best to get the offer. And that means running through some mock interviews with my better half as it's been far too long since I've done any real interviewing. I also need to figure out what to wear to the interview. What does one wear to a part-time job interview at the zoo? The black pants suit that used to be my "go to" interview outfit is just a tad too conservative and over the top for this type of position I fear.

How Fast Is Too Fast?

One of the things I LOVE about running a small business is how nimble that makes me. If I get an idea in my head (like the one that requires the sewing machine which just arrived today - up next, photos of me having managed to sew my fingers together on accident) I lack any sort of patience and want.to.get.started.on.it.RIGHT NOW!!! That's one of the personality traits that didn't make me aptly suited for a large corporate environment.

Now that obviously has it's downside with regards to the fact that it perhaps doesn't allow me ample time to think through all the pros and cons, do all the necessary cost analysis, determine various marketing and distribution opportunities, etc etc. On the flip side though, I'm able to move quickly when I see a need, try to beat other folks to market, and with regards to companies that have to make buying decisions several seasons in advance - get a product to them early enough to be considered.

As an example, today I received a catalogue from a company I'm familiar with but isn't necessarily at the top of my radar for a variety of reasons. In flipping through the catalogue I realized that they're starting to reach out to areas similar then mine - and infact are currently offering a product by a direct competitor. So in the matter of 2 hours I found the name of the individual I need to send samples to, put together a sample, and put together a cover letter. It's heading out via FedEx tonight in the hopes that it arrives in time for consideration for their 2010 Holiday catalogue.

I realize that perhaps I've not been as methodical as I should have - and as I was trained in bschool - but in my mind the upside of being picked up by the catalogue outweighs any downside.

I know not everyone is like this. A good friend of mine runs a company and is much much much more thoughtful about every step she takes with her business. I sometimes am very envious of her patient approach to growing the business step-by-step. But I've also seen her miss very real opportunities simply because she didn't move quickly enough and that is something I couldn't live with. Sometimes I think that if we could combine both my impatience and her methodical approach we might have the perfect businesswoman.

What do you think? For a small business is it better to be the jackrabbit or the tortoise?

World Domination

Friday brought me one step closer to world domination. Maybe just a very very very small step, but a step closer nontheless. I found out on Friday that I was accepted into one of the city's local farmers markets.

For those not in the Pacific Northwest you may be somewhat confused. As best as I can explain it, farmers markets here have what is essentially a cult-like following by essentially everyone in the Pacific Northwest. I can't explain it any better. Almost everyone I know not only loves going to the farmers market but also really does 95% of their fruit/veggie/pasta/cheese/bread/fish/organic meats/jams/honey/other artisan goods shopping there. The farmers markets to us are not something you simply go to because it's a novelty and it brings you a step closer to a more rural way of living. It is our way of living and I wonder if they may just take away your drivers license if you refused to go. So pervasive is this thinking that many people - myself included - are part of a CSA (cooperative farming) that delivers a basket of fresh fruits and veggies to several select areas in the city throughout the week and then we ALSO visit the farmers market on top of that. Really the only time we go to the regular grocery store during the summer is to pick up staples like flour and sugar.

So now perhaps you can see why I'm so excited about getting into the market. This market had the option of applying to be an exhibitor every week or simply signing up for five markets (1 a month May - Sept). Not knowing how well my type of product might be received in a farmers market environment, I signed up for the later and should find out shortly which five markets I'll be part of.

I'm really excited. Before I sent in my application I had come up with several ideas that should be better suited for the farmers market then my traditional products and I think the price points I'm thinking about should work well for both the farmers market and given the state of the economy. In talking with a friend yesterday she mentioned that she has a 10x10 tent canopy which I need for the market that she's more than happy to let me borrow and may even have a chalkboard I can borrow to use as additional signage. If both of those things pan out then there's only a handful of small items I might need to buy to help supplement the booth but it shouldn't be more than $50.

My little hope out of all of this is that I make a little bit of money, sell some product, introduce more folks to my brand, and have fun. My big hope is that I make enough money to pay for (or at least help pay for) my summer fixed expenses. Summer is typically when I have to start dipping into the business savings in advance of the busy Fall season. If I can make enough at the markets to cover my workspace during those months that will go a long ways towards helping me out cashflow-wise come fall.

Bucolic Dreams

At first I typed in Bubonic Dreams - that is something very very different!

As for Bucolic Dreams, I'm referring to the influx of new "farmers market" folks who are coming into my workspace this month. I know I sound like the gritty jaded old general saying this, but so many of them really have no idea what they're in for. Let's put it this way. A lot of people dream of one day opening up a cute little bakery where they can serve grandma's famous apple pie. In their heads it's all very pleasant and a real "salt of the earth" change in their life that they feel has to be better then the stress of their current corporate gig. Only the reality of opening a bakery is as follows:
1. You have to get there at the crack of dawn (or earlier) to start baking
2. You have a myriad of health permits you have to obtain and abide by
3. You have to be willing and able to throw around 50lb bags of flour, sugar, etc
4. You have to enjoy being covered in egg yolk at least 70% of your day
5. You have to enjoy peeling 8000 apples a day

That's just the start of it. Not that someone shouldn't open up their apple pie bakery, but I'm astounded sometimes by the difference between the notion in someone's head and the actual reality of the situation. Yet so many people are willing to go in completely unawares.

As the farmers market folks are coming into my shared workspace, many of them have the same notion. In fact I think more than most this year as many have been downsized from the corporate world in the last year and are thinking this is a great opportunity for them to showcase that special talent they have and how hard can that really be? One gal even went ahead and bought a business from another person in my workspace. This gal not only has NO experience in this business but also has 2-3 other side businesses going on simultaniously. As the seller told me earlier in the week "Does she not realize how busy I was with the business?"

Guess I'm just surprised sometimes how often people put down money and start up companies with limited experience behind them. It'd be like me starting up a logging company. But then again, I am a fairly risk adverse entrepreneur so who I am to talk?

Then again, my new product idea does require me to use skills that are outside my area of expertise. Specifically, sewing. I ordered a sewing machine online and it should be here on Monday and I'm antsy to get started and see if this idea will actually pan out. I guess not unlike the people I mentioned above, I have an idea in my head that with the help of this trusty sewing machine I'll be able to whip up this cool little idea in no time flat. Perhaps even run an extension cord outside and make this product on my porch in the summer?

So I guess one could argue that I'm the pot calling the kettle black!

Pulling the Trigger

I finally did it. After MUCH hemming and hawing I finally put down my deposit for the one tradeshow I'll be going to this year. My first full year in business I went to four tradeshows, then three for the past two years, and now I'm down to one lowly tradeshow. I knew I had to go, I just hate spending the money, especially in an economy like this were you just don't know if buyers are going to show up or not.

In fact, a friend and fellow business owner in my industry went to a tradeshow two weeks ago and said that she basically spent the entire time listening to the crickets chirp. Not a good sign but also not completely unexpected given that the show was in Florida, a state that is apparently still in the depths of this recession (depression?), and the fact that no one from outside states really want to travel that far. The show I just signed up for is in Las Vegas and has been growing over the past few years. Even my friend said that at the Florida show people had nothing but positive things to say about the Las Vegas show.

I've done this show before - in fact I think this is going to be my third year at the show? But in years past I've always hunkered down in one specific area where more of the "luxury" products reside. My friend (same one from the Florida show) already has a booth over there and I thought it'd be fun to get a booth right next to hers so we could keep one another company inbetween talking with buyers. Upon a little more examination though I realized that basically ALL my competitors were buying booths in a section that is known as "all natural" and I feared that I strayed too far from the pack then buyers might think I wasn't all-natural simply because I wasn't in with the rest of the group. Yes, you read that right, I let group-think dictate my buying decision. Truthfully though I think I made the right decision. If the "luxury" section was right next to the "all natural" then I woudln't have been as concerned but they are literally across the convention hall from one another. So I'm taking the plunge and will try switching it up a little bit this year and see what happens in the new booth location.

Now I need to figure out where, if anywhere, I can cut costs with the show. I went back to an inline booth this year versus a corner booth and that will save me about $300. I *think* that my business credit card has enough miles to fly me there and back and my hubby just happens to need to be in Las Vegas for business that same week so I should get to stay with him which means no lodging will be on the business balancesheet. If I didn't have to be back in Seattle the day after the tradeshow I'd seriously consider making the drive to Las Vegas and just hauling all my stuff with me as it'll cost me about $500 to ship everything there and back and that's my next biggest cost associated with the show. But driving isn't an option...perhaps packing lighter should be!

I am still excited about the fact that I'm not going to the Chicago tradeshow that happens to fall a few weeks after the Las Vegas one. In the past I've gone to both but the Chicago one has been on a slow decline the last few years. Last year was horrible and a huge waste of money and I just don't want to do it again. I figure the fact that I still feel as strongly about NOT going to that show, even after all these months, proves I made the right decision in that regard.

Long Day

It's been a long long day in my workspace. Lots got accomplished which is good since I've been away for a few days helping out with some stuff back home. Most importantly however, that Canada order - the one that has been dogging me for literally months at this point - finally got picked up and on its way today. For how small the order really is, all the stress and agony almost doesn't seem worthwhile. But I know in the long run that this one small order can mean lots of bigger orders down the road. In fact, I shudder to think what would have happened to my little company if last year this Canadian company and the sister US company hadn't placed holiday orders. All my little independent stores were running scared and were too worried about the recession to really place any significant orders. But this Canada company and the US sister company really helped me out in a big way revenue-wise. So no complaining from me...in fact perhaps I should send them a fruit basket? Nevermind, it wouldn't make it past customs.

Tomorrow is an exciting day. My dayplanner simply says QuickBooks Q1. That's a lie - it also says "Give the dogs their Sentinal pills" but since that will only take a quick second the majority of the day will be devoted to QuickBooks. (Big sigh)

I am going to go check out a new - well, used - sewing machine that I spotted on Craigslist tomorrow. I need a sewing machine for my fabulous new idea - the one I mentioned before that is akin to hats for squirrels. Hopefully I can pick this sewing machine up for less then $100 and then hopefully I can figure out how to use it.

I sometimes think of what my life would be like if I worked for a real company. I'm assuming "catch up with a quarter's worth of Quickbooks" and "pick up sewing machine" would not be on my list of things to do on any given day. "Give the dogs their Sentinal pills" still would be on my list though.

Since Easter is this Sunday I leave you with my fabulous Easter eggs. If you're friends with me on Facebook then you've already seen them. Yes, I am that proud of them. I'm always too busy at Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to really go all-out with the decorations so I did Easter up right with six super-snazzy Easter Eggs. (For my Jewish friends - I also made some kick-a$$ macaroons so that I could get all major religions covered. Sadly I didn't take any pictures of those.)